Manti Te'o -- Fake Girlfriend Called Me AFTER Her Supposed Death

Manti Te'o

Fake GF Called Me AFTER

Her Supposed Death

1/16/2013 5:06 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Manti Te'o told Notre Dame officials he NEVER met his supposed girlfriend in person ... and only realized her death was a hoax last month ... after receiving a phone call from "Lennay's" cell phone.

Jack Swarbrick -- Director of Athletics at Notre Dame -- called an emergency media conference Wednesday night in the wake of the not-really-dead girlfriend scandal. Here are the highlights:

-- Manti is expected to address the media sometime tomorrow (Thursday). -- Manti called Notre Dame officials on Dec. 26 ... and alerted them to the hoax.-- According to Swarbrick, Manti realized Lennay Kekua wasn't dead when he got a phone call from her cell phone at an ESPN award show in December ... months after her supposed death. -- Manti claims the woman who called from "Lennay's" phone was the same person who he had spoken with during his relationship with Lennay. -- Manti says the woman informed him that Lennay was not dead ... because she was not real. -- Swarbrick says Manti met with a media team, who had planned to release the story to the media next week ... but they were scooped by Deadspin.-- Manti told ND officials he had gone to Hawaii to meet Lennay in person on several occasions, but she never showed up. -- ND believes that Manti was targeted because he's too nice of a guy ... and the perps took pleasure in humiliating him.

Swarbrick also said, "This was a very elaborate, very sophisticated hoax perpetrated for reasons we can't fully understand but had a certain cruelty at its core."

Swarbrick says investigators believe there are numerous people involved in the hoax.

HERE'S THE RUNDOWN David Beckham Loses Control Of His Motorcycle In Hollywood Tom Hanks Blasts FIFA Over Women's World Cup Usain Bolt Uses Chris Brown & Drake To Impress Rihanna Country Legend Rips The NFL Over Half Time Show